RecordSetter
RecordSetter is a website in which users may upload world records of any category or attempt to break one of the existing world records. The site was launched in November 2008 and is now home to approximately 4,000 categories. Upon launch, the site was known as the Universal Records Database (usually shortened to URDB), but the name was changed in mid-2011. Creation NOTE: The following is taken directly from RecordSetter.com "RecordSetter is an evolution of a Burning Man theme camp created in the summer of 2004. A group of friends, including RecordSetter co-founder Dan Rollman, sat down in San Francisco to brainstorm theme ideas for their camp. Eager for a concept that allowed community participation, Dan suggested a Burning Man Book of Records, in large part due to his lifelong Guinness Book obsession. They called themselves the Playa Book of Records (PBR), an homage to the book they’d been inspired by. They bought yellow suit jackets as a nod to Wide World of Sports, drew up documentation forms, made hand-painted signs and took off for the desert, unsure of what was to come. After just a few days documenting records, they sensed they were onto something. Camp visitors were dreaming up and setting unique, creative and spectacular records. They were taking great pride in their feats. Competition was fierce, with record setters returning daily to make sure their achievements hadn’t been topped. The Playa Book of Records has returned to Burning Man every year since, growing larger and more established each time. They’ve evolved from wristwatches to stopwatches, single witnesses to multiple, and photo documentation to video. The PBR database now holds over 250 unique records, most of which are included on this site. In 2006 Rollman met Corey Henderson through his then girlfriend (now wife) Emily Wilson. Over beers during a Ratatat concert in San Francisco, Rollman pitched PBR to Henderson and explained his dream of evolving it online. Henderson saw the vision, and the two spent the night brainstorming on how to make it happen. Fast forward to 2008. Rollman and Henderson, both now living in New York City, have spent many months and countless hours figuring out this site and bringing it to life. They’ve turned to friends and family countless times for invaluable assistance, and are excited to finally see this site live." Name Change In late June of 2011, URDB announced that it would be changing its name to RecordSetter, effective immediately. In a press release, founder Dan Rollman explained that the name change reflected the need "to evolve our vision to something beyond just a database" . The Notable Projects Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Rollman and Henderson have made several appearances on the NBC show "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon", inviting celebrities to break world records. For instance, on the March 1, 2011 episode, actress Isla Fisher set a new world record for Most Frozen Waffles Stacked In Two Hands . NBC show In the fall of 2010, NBC picked up a game show revolving around URDB. The name was "That's a Record" and was produced by Jimmy Fallon, who hosted record setting segments on his talk show (see above). The show was to be hosted by Chris Hardwick. A pilot was taped but never aired. Sponsor Projects RecordSetter has been a part of several sponsored projects, often involving a prize for record setters. Prius Records On March 30-31, 2011, Toyota launched Prius Records, where a group of people in a warehouse aimed to set 200 world records using the Toyota Prius. The event was live streamed on the website from noon to 10 PM EDT. The group wound up setting a total of 206 records, beating their goal. Stride Marketers Starting on June 25, 2011, gum company Stride launched the Stride League of Long Lasting Records. Every day, the Stride marketing team set a record under the title "Long Lasting Record #x: (record name)". On October 11, 2011, the current holder of each world record will be awarded $500 for a total prize purse of $50,000. Toshiba As part of the advertisement campaign for Toshiba tablets, Toshiba challenged Los Angeles and San Francisco to set the record for Most People Doing the Robot While Dressed as Robots. Toshiba later awarded a tablet to one of its Twitter followers. References